And Then There Were Three
by AnagumaConscience
Summary: On the night of their graduation, Lily Evans and James Potter celebrate their freedom at a Muggle pub with whiskey. The night ends in Godric's Hollow, where Cari Potter is concieved. How will an 18 year old James Potter deal with a newborn baby girl? OC
1. Introduction

**a** n d **t** h e n **t** h e r e **w** e r e **t** h r e e

**Author's Note:** Okay, first a note of warning: this first chapter's a little NC-17. It's not too bad…just alcohol, a whore, more alcohol, and implied lemon…But I _swear_ it's the only chapter that's gonna be this bad. I actually have a message I intend to send with this series…and I really wanna finish it, so keep reviewing and nagging me! I also want to apologize to anyone whom this chapter might offend…I have justifications for most elements, but I'm not going to go into that unless you message me and ask for explanation. I'm far too lazy.

**Dedication:**To TuRtLe88 for the help with the drudging naming process and half of the inspiration, and to my 9th grade English teacher's pregnancy and feminism for the rest. May you never find out who I am. Oh, and to the snitch, without whom this story might not have made it past 433 words.

**Disclaimer:** I really don't deserve much credit at all…I mean, chocolates and reviews are two accepted forms of appreciation, otherwise all the thanks can go to J.K. Rowling and whoever else owns Harry Potter copy writes. Cari is the only character I own.

**I**ntroduction

**T**he **F**reedom **S**ummer

Lily Evans and James Potter were in a Muggle bar, and rather drunk. James looked over, beamed at his girlfriend, and held up his 5th whiskey in a toast.

"To freedom!"

"To freedom!" Lily held up her glass too. "Hey James," she gurgled. "Remember in Muggle Studies when we learned about the sixties in America?"

"Nope!" James was starting to dance in his seat to a song. Sure, there was music playing, but he was swaying to a different beat.

"There was this thing called the Freedom Summer." Lily frowned in concentration. "I can't bloody remember what the hell it was, but I think it must've felt like this." She nodded, confirming words she didn't understand.

"Yea, yea. Sure Lil'!" James set his glass down and stood up. "Let's _dance_!" He pulled Lily out to the center of the bar, and they started dancing. Around them, people whispered and laughed, but those who were equally drunk stood up and joined them.

"Hey hottie," A blonde girl came up to James and started grinding against him. "Teach me that dance!"

Lily skipped up. "It's called the Hippogriff!" She started singing Do the Hippogriff by the Weird Sisters, and the blonde whore started grinding against Lily, leaving James to tip over drunkenly.

Lily started grinding back, babbling about wizards and Voldemort and Hogwarts and how she and James were going to spend the whole summer together now that they were graduated, and other bar-goers just shook their heads at the spectacle.

James looked up from the ground at his girlfriend and her lesbian display, and pushed himself up. He walked behind her and hooked his arms around her waist and whispered, "Let's go back to my place."

Lily nodded, leaving the blonde whore to some other drunken victim, and she and James left the bar, some how guzzling another two drinks on their way out.

They swung their hands like 5-year-olds as they walked through Nighttime Muggle London, and Lily's smarts were strong enough to shine through her drunkenness sufficiently enough to convince James to wait to apparate until they had reached an empty alley.

"I loooove you Lily," James giggled before apparating.

The two were lucky they didn't splinch, as the alcohol had covered any accuracy James might've had in the first place. Perhaps the only thing the two were saved by was James's Quidditch sense. Perhaps without that, this story would end here with "The couple, madly in love until the end, apparated, and neither could tell through the fog of alcohol what had happened. James giddily waved at his bottom half before passing on."

Fortunately, or unfortunately, the two made it safely to the place James had bought in Godric's Hollow weeks earlier, when James had asked Lily to live with him. James had not yet proposed, promising Lily to wait until he had a steady job.

They bust the door open, and James picked Lily up, looking around for somewhere to lay her down. The two hadn't yet moved in furniture, as they had been living at Hogwarts until that very day.

And so, they did it on the floor.

--

**Second AN:** Once again I'd like to apologize to any alcoholics, whores, or 5-year-olds whom I might've offended, but I warned you!

Pretty pretty please review! If you don't, It'll just sit here all on it's lonesome, becoming a very pathetic little one-shot. For every review I get, I'll post a chapter, but the more reviews, the better the chapter!

Happy Valentines Day, and to those Americans, Happy President's Day! (Which pretty much translates to "have fun on your day off! (and don't get drunk and pregnant)."

**AnagumaConscience**


	2. Chapter 1

** a **n d ** t **h e n ** t **h e r e ** w **e r e ** t **h r e e 

**Author's Note:** It's late. I'm listening to beautiful, slow music. I couldn't come up with a good ending for this chapter. I apologize. Other than that, I'm decently satisfied with it. It gets a little more into the conflict than the introduction, I hope.

**Dedications:** Thanks a whoooole bunch to FunkyFiction for the timely review. It's thanks to this wonderful author and reader that you are all treated to this chapter. Please review! I don't post until someone is awesome enough to review. This chapter's also dedicated to my wonderfully loyal beta, TuRtLe88. As my thanks to her, I will ask that you all go take a look at her stuff. James Potter is not Dead is my personal favorite. Of course, I'm sure I'll end up thanking her plenty more in the future.

**Disclaimer:** I really don't own much any of the stuff in this chapter. I don't own any characters. I don't own the various brand names mentioned, like Aspirin and Tylenol. I also don't own that little boy cat (that's not really a boy).

**Apology:** I apologize for that really bad Psych reference right there, with the little boy cat, but it's too late to apologize. I also dearly regret _that_ OneRepulic reference. I should stop while I'm ahead. GO! READ!

**Chapter One**

**Oh My**

"James…" Lily sat up slowly from her place on the floor, cautious of her already apparent hangover. "What the bloody hell did you do?" Turns out having sex on a hard wood floor wasn't a great idea. Lily felt like her entire body was hung over, not just her brain.

"Mmm?" James curled up in a ball, obviously not wanting to get up. Lily tried to think without his help. They had celebrated, right? Right after graduation, she and James had gone out to a Muggle bar, "to change things up a little bit." That, and Hogs Head and Three Broomsticks were bound to be crowded with other graduated

They must have gotten drunk. The hangover made this much apparent to Lily, and she deduced from their general lack of clothes that they had had sex.

That wouldn't be a huge deal if Lily knew for sure that James had used a condom. She leaned over and shook him. "James," she whispered, for his benefit as well as her own.

"James Potter, you had better tell me that you used a condom last night."

"How the hell am I supposed to remember?" He rolled over and glared. "But I'm gonna go with probably no…I don't see a used one around…"

Lily groaned and rolled over, pulling herself off the floor. She went to the entryway where they had sent their luggage from Hogwarts the other day before heading off to celebrate. She pulled a change of clothes out, got dressed, and sat down on the floor to write a letter.

_Sev,_

_Hey, remember how you told me that you'd help me if I needed it? Could I get you to send me a pregnancy test potion (whatever version strikes your fancy; I'm not picky)? I'll explain later in person if you'd like me to._

_Also, James and I are having a housewarming party on July 15, if you'd like to come. Party starts at 3:00, no gifts necessary. It's totally casual, don't worry about a thing. I really hope you'll come, and don't worry about James._

_Miss you,_

_Lil_

She looked over to James, who had fallen back asleep, and rolled her eyes. Severus would understand her request, and he'd be happy to help. She was lucky to have him as a friend. She rolled her parchment up and sent her owl, Rowena (A/N: maybe I'll post a special chapter sometime of the story behind the name…), and went to bring her suitcase up to her room in the house.

When she came back down, James was still asleep on the floor, not that he had much of a choice for surfaces, but Sirius's face was in the Floo.

"Oy! Mate! Wakey wakey!--Ah, the gorgeous Lily Evans emerges." Sirius spotted her coming down the stairs, and smiled. From the way his head bobbed, Lily guessed that he was attempting a bow.

She tried her hardest to keep the sour look off her face. Sure, she had come around to James (_really_ come around), but she still found Sirius immature and brash.

"Hello, Sirius." She knelt down. "James is asleep. Hung over, so it'll be a while before he's awake. I'll have him Floo you later. Now, if you don't mind, I was on my way somewhere."

"So you two partied it up last night! I still can't believe you wouldn't let me and Remie join you." Sirius entirely disregarded her request. "And you shagged to sum the night up, as far as I can deduce from James's white little arse hanging out of those blankets."

"Oh, you and Remus are grateful you had time to yourself, don't deny it." Lily couldn't help the jest. "Now, please, the Floo?"

"Why don't you just apparate?"

"Honestly, I'm too hung over."

"All right, as long as you can admit it. Remember to have James Floo me."

"Right."

Sirius's face disappeared, and Lily put the fire out to make sure he didn't come back. She scribbled a quick note to James, "Floo Sirius back," and got her own Floo powder from her luggage.

"Evans house," she said, letting her arm drop the powder into the rekindled fire. She stepped through, ready to just slump down on a couch in her simple, Muggle living room in her simple, Muggle home, but her plans changed when she noticed who waited to greet her.

Her parents and sister were sitting with another suburban Muggle couple. Every single person was dressed nicely; one party was kissing the other's arse. Mr. and Mrs. Evans were hosting, so Lily could deduce through her hang over that they were the arse-kissers.

And every single person was looking at Lily.

"Oh my," her mother said.

"Oh god," her father said.

Petunia's eyes widened, and her head turned to watch the guests' reactions.

"Richard…?" The other man gave her father a wary look.

"Oh my," her mother repeated.

The visiting woman started her first impression with a glare that said, almost verbatim, "_what are you thinking?,_" but she seemed to remember to be surprised, and muttered, "oh my."

"Shite," Lily walked into the kitchen, where she slumped down on the floor, a place she was getting tired of, and leaned her head back against the refrigerator.

Lily's mother came in the kitchen, and sat down on the floor with her daughter. Mrs. Evans was that sort of mother. Sure, she was a presentable suburban Muggle, but she also found it natural to sit on the kitchen floor when her daughter's obvious troubles required it.

Lily turned to her mother's face, and laid her head on the welcoming shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I'll contact someone for a memory charm."

"It's okay. Can I get you anything right now?"

"Aspirin?" Since Lily had been raised on Muggle medicines and drugs, her system was able to cope. Some drugs were even more effective than potions, and Lily found herself coming back home for Aspirin and Tylenol more than anything else.

Her mom nodded and stood, producing two pills and a cup of water for Lily, who gratefully took them both.

"I just came to get some more of my stuff," Lily stood up. "I should have called ahead, I'm sorry."

"As long as ­­­the Ministry sends someone down about Mr. Peterson's memory, everything will be fine."

"So, who are they?" Lily started with her things in the kitchen, pulling a brown paper grocery bag from the cupboard under the sink, and loading her various pens, notebooks and cookbooks into it.

"Mr. Peterson is a potential client of your father's." Mr. Evans was a real estate agent, and the Evans had hosted plenty of dinners before for clients, so Lily wasn't surprised.

"What about Mrs. Peterson? She knows, doesn't she? About the Other London." Lily had adopted this euphemism for the Magical World, due to Petunia's adversion.

"Not that I know of, but she didn't seem too surprised, did she?"

"No," Lily paused in her packing to think to herself.

Once Lily had written a letter to the Ministry of Magic and sent it using the emergency owl her parents kept around, she finished packing and said her goodbyes. She considered leaving through the door, but after considering the Petersons, who had been quiet since her entrance, she left via Floo.

"Potter and Evans, Godric's Hollow." It was a long address, but neither James nor Lily had been able to compromise on anything else.

--

James woke up sometime an hour or so after Lily left, slowly. James had more tolerance for alcohol than Lily, and had less of a hangover. This advantage allowed him to cheerily get dressed, and make breakfast. He put eggs in to hard boil, and had gone back to the living room to clean up the mess they had made the previous night when he found Lily's note.

He smiled, and went over to the Floo, intending to contact Sirius with all details from last night.

Just as he was prepared to throw the Floo powder down and stick his head through, the fire place lit up green. James found himself face-to-beak with Severus Snape. He jerked his head back in surprise.

_I wonder what would happen if we had thrown the Floo at the same time…I'll have to try it with Sirius sometime._ James vaguely mused to himself before greeting the caller.

"Lily's out at her parent's."

"Oh."

"Sorry."

"Would you inform her that I'll send the requested effects this evening?, and that I," James almost heard a "reluctantly" inserted here, "Agree to the latter half of her letter?"

"Of course." James conformed to the predetermined template of formality. "So long."

Severus's head flickered out of the fire, and James scrawled a note as much to himself as to Lily, not trusting himself to remember the entire verbose message.

Once the note was written, James Flooed his head to the fire place in Sirius's bedroom, which had been surreptitiously connected to the Floo Network summer after the boys' first year.

"Snuffles!" James called out to Sirius's form on the bed. The latter boy looked up from his reading material hopefully, and crawled over to the foot of his bed to see the fireplace.

"Without school, I find myself extremely bored." Sirius grinned at his best friend. "And inadequately exposed to my friends. How are you, mate? How was last night?" He winked.

"Good to see you! Even better to see you slacking. I feel like it's been a year since we were in school. I'm great. Last night was great. I think. What happened, again?"

Both boys chuckled at James's stupidity, and started up their small-talk and gossiping session. Remus had often told the two that they have a nattered as much as girls.

"Your girlfriend was a mess this morning when I Flooed," Sirius smiled, meaning well.

"I think I might've gotten her pregnant, Siri," James's face was completely straight.

"Oh hell." Sirius met James's eyes.

"Yea."

"Well, you should like…figure out for sure."

"I think she mailed Snape for a potion this morning. He Flooed just now to tell her that whatever it was she asked for would come this evening."

Sirius mmmed quietly to himself, not quite knowing what to say. I won't lie to you and say that they were constantly on the exact same wavelength. They didn't always know the perfect thing to say to everything, especially in terra incognita such as this, but all that mattered was that they didn't expect that of each other.

They sat in contemplative silence for a while before starting up a new topic: their freedom from Professor Binns.

---

**Second AN:** You know what I just noticed? They still haven't used any magic, other than Flooing. Perhaps I should focus a little bit more on what's going on in the Magical World than whether or not Lily's pregnant. If you haven't guessed the answer to that yet, I sincerely apologize. (okay, FYI, I wrote that before I wrote my apology note at the top. Am I the only one who's finding this comment ironic? or is it just stupid?)

Once again, I'd like to remind everyone to review! This chapter got out quickly because I got a hugely helpful review, and I'd like to keep that trend.

**Love Anaguma Conscience**


	3. Chapter 2

** a **n d ** t **h e n ** t **h e r e ** w **e r e ** t **h r e e 

**Author's Note: **I'm so grateful! Brucey, Funkyfiction and Jinx's Box have been wonderful with their faithful reviews, but if you're going to favorite the story or put it on your alert list, _**please**_ review! I want to know what you all think of it! And don't be afraid to criticize (or even flame) 'cause I want to hear whatever you have to say.

On to other news. Thanks to my beta, I've decided to (try to) get more into the actual wizarding world with this one…after all; it IS a Harry Potter fanfic…

**Dedication:** To Brucey, for nagging me and reviewing…I ahdore ya!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own a thing in this story except for the original plot and dear little…whatever the baby's name'll be. (I feel like such a responsible author…)

**Chapter Two**

**Two Decisions Made**

"Hey Lil'" James kissed her briefly when she stepped out of the Floo. "Snape Flooed while you were gone. By the way, how were your parents?"

"Mmm...We can talk about my visit later," Lily pulled boxes of her personal belongings out of the fireplace. "What did Severus want?"

"He told me to tell you that your…'effects'…would come tonight, and that he agrees to the second part of your letter." James sat down on a worse-for-wear looking couch he had dragged home from Sirius' basement.

Just as Lily started to respond, a faint disturbance from the front room caught her attention. The two went there and found Severus standing with a vial in his hands.

"Sev!" Lily hugged him in greeting. "Thank you for coming by; come in."

"Sorry Lily. I just came to drop this off; I should be going." Severus was stiff; he was nervous. Lily assumed it was because of James, and just rolled her eyes at the boys' ongoing feud. James snorted and went into the other room.

"All right," she smiled and took the vial. "You're coming the 15th, right?"

Severus nodded and said goodbye. He paused and, in a lower voice, said, "we should talk, Lil'…I want to know what you need _this_ for."

Lily took a step closer and hugged him. "Why don't you come over when you're done with whatever else you have tonight?" It was already late, but Lily had a feeling that the results of the potion would prevent any decent sleep.

He shook his head. "I'll be drained. How about tomorrow?"

Lily nodded and smiled. Severus attempted a smile, and apparated away.

Lily also wanted to talk to Severus about their argument. She was incredibly worried about him and his apparent fixation with the dark arts…she began to reflect on the last, terrifying display of his fascination.

Lily thought better of this pessimistic mindset and sighed, walking into the kitchen where James was sitting, attempting to scan a three-day-old _Daily Prophet_. He looked up when she came in.

"So that's it? The test?" He nodded at the vial in her hand. She was reading the directions attached to it, written in Severus's own hand.

"Yea…" she let out a breath. She raised her eyes to catch his. He set aside the paper, and stood, walking to her. 

He took her hands and whispered, "It's going to be okay."

She nodded, and downed the vial in one gulp. If a pink " " appeared on her hand in the next sixty minutes…well…the two of them would have some planning to do.

--

Lily paced around the kitchen a few minutes after taking the vile before mumbling something about visiting Remus. James went to the living room and started unpacking Lily's things. They had both agreed to furnish the house like a Muggle home: both to make things more natural for Lily, and also as a precaution in the case that something came up with the War, and they had to go into hiding.

That brought James's thoughts to a new topic. The War. About a week before school got out, Professor Dumbledore had approached him and invited him to a meeting. When James had arrived, Professor Dumbledore had silently motioned for James to sit. The memory of the Professor's first words still sent chills up James's spine.

"The organization of which I am about to inform you is of utmost confidentiality. To let its existence slip would be to condemn more than a dozen people to death."

The two sentences had presented James with a decision which determined the rest of his life. He had been presented with the option to join the Order of the Pheonix.

He had accepted, of course, James thought to himself, returning to the present. The Order had needed not only members, but also his family money, and James had been willing to give it. And because of that, he had essentially sold his soul to Dumbledore. They had been requested to report every change in his lifestyle…for the "security of the others."

James sat for a few minutes in an armchair he had painstakingly heaved out of a bottomless cardboard box, debating whether (and how) to tell Albus about the pregnancy.

James finished the unpacking in contemplative silence, and with the last box unpacked, he decided to tell Albus at the Order meeting that night.

--

Lily apparated into the hallway outside Remus and Sirius's London apartment, and knocked on the door. Remus opened the door, and Lily stepped inside, smiling. 

"Oh, it's good to see you!" She hugged him, and took a look around at his place. His and Sirius's that was. The two of them had decided to follow Lily and James's example and bought a place of their own right after graduation. The two had confessed their love for each other sometime around midterms their seventh year, and had been attached at the hip since.

"Come on in, Lil'," Remus closed the door behind her.

Lily held out an envelope for him, with his and Sirius's names on the front. "This is the invite to our housewarming party," she said. "I know I've already told you about it, but I figured I should be official about it."

"Thanks," Remus took the envelope and set it aside. "There's something else you wanted to talk about, isn't there?"

_It's just like him to instinctively know when to be concerned_, Lily thought to herself with a sad smile.

"Well, we'll see about that," she said. "In about…two minutes." She looked at her hand.

"Okay…" He trailed off, "Er, would you like some tea in the mean time?"

"Yes please."

"It's the Lilster!" Sirius came out of a hall that must've led to their bedroom and kissed Remus briefly on the cheek before allowing him to continue to the kitchen. He fastened a tie under his wizard robes.

"Hello, Sirius." Strangely, Lily was able to smile at the sight of him. _Motherly compassion?_ She pushed the thought out of her mind. "Where are you off to, dressed like that?"

Sirius beamed, obviously proud of himself and whatever he was going to say next. "A job interview!" It seemed to Lily that it took the entirety of his self control to suppress the childish want to jump up and down in victory.

"Uh-huh…Where?" Lily tried to imagine the occupation Sirius would choose. Most likely, he thought of the interview as a game; he was playing "house," and he got to be the Daddy. (A/N: Here I would like to point out that this comparison would make Remus the Mommy…)

"A little Muggle smoothie shop downtown."

Lily rolled her eyes, suppressing a giggle. "You're going to want to change out of your robes, then. Muggle, clothes, remember?"

Sirius childishly stuck out his tongue at being wrong and having the fact pointed out to him, and he ran back down the hallway from where he had come. Remus came out of the kitchen, carrying two cups of tea.

Lily took a sip, grateful for the calming liquid. As she raised the cup to her lips, she got a glimpse of her right hand. On it was a pink " ".

Remus looked up from his own cup and noticed her shaking. He shifted from his seat across the coffee table to a spot on the couch next to her, and took her in his arms. "So this is what you wanted to talk about?" She nodded.

"I just…don't know what to do." It was a relief to finally be able to talk with someone about it openly. Lily felt she could trust Remus; he was one of the only friends she had who had decorum and a sense of privacy. There was Severus…but Lily wasn't sure she could trust him anymore, not after his terrifying display of dark arts…

Remus gave her a sympathetic look and pulled her in for a hug. She let him, and they sat and talked for a while.

After a half an hour or so, Remus excused himself politely to use the lavatory, leaving Lily to muse to herself. 

Wizarding pregnancy tests came in a variety of forms (Lily's particular potion was an original invention of Severus's), but all had a negligible rate of failure (unless, of course, the user was under the influence of another spell or potion) and worked as soon as a day after conception. While some witches are grateful for this fact, Lily was thoroughly _not_. This 100 guarantee left no margin for doubt. Lily _was_ pregnant.

--

James looked at the clock: 6:15. Nearly time to fetch Lily and head to the Order meeting. He had thought seriously about how to tell Albus, and had finally decided that a non-confrontational approach would be best. He pulled a neatly folded letter out of his pocket and read it over for the umpteenth time.

_Albus,_

_You had asked us to keep you updated with any information that might be vital to the security of the Group. It's because of this request that I feel the obligation to inform you of Lily's pregnancy. I am the father. Let us know if there are any precautions we should take._

_-James Potter_

It had been surprisingly easy to write. He had the assurance that the meddling git wouldn't interrupt and psychoanalyze him, and he was able to get it all out without leading up to it with small talk. James found it a good decision, even if it did go against the Gryffindor morals of courage.

He read it through one last time, and forced himself to shove it back in his pocket.

_"Lily's pregnancy. I am the father."_ What was supposed to happen next? What are young men supposed to do when they get their girlfriends pregnant?

_Propose_. Odd as it was, the obvious answer manifested itself in James' head in Remus's voice.

"Are you listening, James? You have to propose to her." James came out of his contemplative stupor and looked up. Remus was standing in the entry way. Apparently he had apparated over.

"Where's Lily?" James was confused. Wasn't she supposed to be chatting with Remus?

"I told her I had to use the lavatory. She told me that she's pregnant."

"So…it did turn positive, then?"

Remus nodded.

James nodded decisively in return. _Propose to her_.

--

Severus Snape currently ran his own small line of potions, which he sold at a small place on Knockturn Alley. That night, he stood over one such potion, lost in thought while he waited for it to reach a boil.

Lily was pregnant with James's child, and they were living together. Severus closed his eyes in the emotional pain this thought brought him. He loved Lily dearly, but had decided that it was best for him to keep his distance from her. He just wanted the best for her, and his love for her would not help her situation any.

He would go to their housewarming party, wish them each the best, and retreat into his own life, cutting them off.

_Yes, that would be best for all involved,_ he thought as he stirred the potion. He just hoped that he would be able to maintain the seclusion after the baby was born. _I want so much to hold Lily's child in my arms._

--

**A/N: **I'm suuuuuper happy with this chapter. Hopefully I'll be able to get similar work done a little bit faster in the future. Another thanks to all of you who have reviewed!


	4. Chapter 3

Author's Note – I am beautifully happy right now

** a **n d ** t **h e n ** t **h e r e ** w **e r e ** t **h r e e 

**Author's Note – **I am beautifully happy right now. I'm on my spring break, and I'm skiing in AMAZING bleeps out name of awesome place for fear of stalkers. My legs are bum-er than Dr. House's. Another reason I'm beautifully happy is my faithful READERS! I love you guys, seriously! The day I post and I already have two more reviews…You guys all get cyber cake!

I'm a little disappointed about the pace of the story, so the next few chapters might be kind of short, but hopefully that will allow me to get them out faster.

**Dedications – **To FunkyFiction (again XD), serenity12345, and hpfan626andfuturewriter for the wonderful reviews. This is the most reviews I've gotten on a single chapter, and I'm grateful to every one of you! Also, to TuRtLe88 for being an amazing beta!

**Disclaimer – **I do not own anything from this story besides my O.C., Cari, who hasn't even shown up yet… :

**Chapter Three**

**Spicy Meatball Stew**

Lily came home that night after spending a little more time with Remus, and decided to take her mind off of the past few days' events by cooking.

"Hey James?" She called though the house to find him.

"In here!" He called from the living room. She followed his voice to see that he had unpacked all of the boxes, and was sealing a letter, sitting on the carpeted floor. "Yea?" He asked.

"I'm going to apparate to Mum's quick and borrow a recipe book," she smiled, almost mischieviously. "I'm cooking tonight."

"Whatcha gonna cook?" James was slightly worried, but, being a young man, he would eat nearly anything.

"You'll see." She turned and started walking away, apparating mid-step. In reality, she hadn't yet decided what they would have for dinner. _A good conversation meal,_ she thought to herself as she felt her self beginning to fall out of the apparation. She intended to have a discussion with James about what they were going to do about the pregnancy.

She made sure to apparate outside her parents' house, in case of company. She turned red just at the memory, and stepped inside.

"Mum? Dad?" She called out. She walked into the kitchen, where Petunia was sitting on the kitchen counter, phone to her ear. Lily smiled and waved. Petunia smiled weakly back, and went back to her phone conversation.

Lily pulled a kitchen chair up to the fridge, and stood on it, looking on top of the fridge for her mom's cookbooks. She ran her finger along the dusty tops of the books, scanning the titles. _Pastries and Breakfast Dishes, Desserts, All Vegan Dishes for the Home-Bound Mother,_ Lily smiled at that last one. Petunia had been going through a _phase_ when she was about eleven. She had felt that she just _had_ to be like all of the eco-friendly actresses and models. It hadn't lasted long.

Lily found the book she was looking for, _Simple Meals for Simple Gatherings_, and stepped down off the chair. As she did so, an idea struck her. She had to run it by James first, but she was sure he would be fine with it. And if he wasn't…well, the Evans family were big fans of _My Big Fat Greek Wedding_, a Muggle film, and, as Lily's mum always quoted, "The man may be the head, but the woman is the neck, and she can turn the head any way she wants."

Lily smiled, pleased that she had at least _one_ plan to run by James, and waved bye to Petunia as she left. Reaching the door, Lily heard voices from her father's office down the hall. The man with her father sounded familiar, and it only took Lily a brief moment to recognize the voice as belonging to her father's client, Mr. Peterson.

Her mother came down the stairs then, fastening a necklace, and saw Lily. "Dear!" She hugged her daughter. "What brought you here?"

Lily hugged her mom back and replied, "I was going to borrow this cookbook, if that's all right with you," she held up _Simple Meals for Simple Gatherings_. "I'm going to experiment a few dishes to get ready for the housewarming party."

"Of course, of course. Oh!" Mrs. Evans finished with her necklace. "I meant to ask you a favor about that. Do you mind if we bring the Petersons? They've been having a rather hard time deciding on a place, and we thought it might be nice to show them a little of the neighborhood in Godric's Hollow. They might feel very welcome if they were able to bond with other new residents."

"I really don't know," Lily was doubtful. "Everyone else at the party will be witches and wizards. There's no way I could keep everyone quiet. Is there something we could do about Mr. Peterson? A memory charm, or anything?"

"Mm…that could indeed be troublesome, dear." Mrs. Evans paused, considering the problem. "I will do what research I can. We still have a week, right?"

"July 15. That's five days, I believe." Lily figured in her head. "That's still plenty of time, though, right?"

"Yes, yes. I'm sure it is."

"All right. I'll ask Albus Dumbledore about it also, next time I see him." Her own statement made Lily realize that they had an Order meeting that very night. "I really should get home and start cooking. It's already 6 o'clock."

Mrs. Evans hugged Lily goodbye, and Lily apparated from the front step, after first checking that Mr. Peterson was still in her father's office.

At dinner that night, Lily brought a sauce pan of spicy meatball stew to the table, where she carefully served herself and James each a bowl. "Careful; it's hot," she warned. "It was really quite fun to make, though I needed to go out and buy a few things that we didn't have. What do you think?"

"It's excellent," James smiled at her. It _was_ good, but the truth was, he knew that wasn't really what she wanted to talk about. He knew her far too well. The Lily he knew would start a conversation about something small and uncontroversial as the weather, but would end up leading to a real bomb, like war. _Or pregnancy,_ he thought.

"Oh, I'm so glad!" Lily wasn't just distracting James from the heavy topics; she was distracting _herself_. "If I make enough, would it be okay for the housewarming party?"

"Of course. When is that, again?" James tried to keep the easy conversation going.

"The fifteenth. You did remember to invite your parents, right?"

James's attempt failed as he nodded and the conversation died off.

The two ate quietly for a few minutes, and, finally, James heard Lily take a deep breath in preparation for the conversation he knew was coming. He let out his own breath and resigned to it.

"James, I'm pregnant," Lily stated practically. James looked up reluctantly, and their eyes met across the table. "We're keeping it," Lily said firmly.

"Of course, Lil'!"

"When are we going to tell people, James? We have to tell them eventually, our parents, and our friends."

"But _why?_" James asked childishly. Lily opened her mouth to reprimand his ethics, but he interrupted. "I know, I know. I just don't _want_ to, although, I did right Albus this." He handed her the letter across the table.

Lily read the letter over, and handed it back to him. "It looks good," she said, "And as far as everyone else goes, we could tell them at the housewarming party." She presented her idea.

"Sure, yea." James agreed.

"Oh," Lily changed the subject. "And I'd like a list of your RSVP's, if you can make one. Just tally everyone who can come, those who can't, and those you haven't heard from." Lily could often be described as…a perfectionist, and organized the rest of the time. James knew that, even if it was tiresome sometimes, it was her way with dealing with stress. And so, he went to the study and organized all of his RSVP letters, and sat down with a piece of parchment to make a list for her.

Severus Snape had just delivered his latest batch of potions to Absescyst, the potions store on Knockturn Alley that stocked his products.

He pocketed his pay, and headed towards Gringotts to bank it. As he came into view, the contrast of long blond hair on black raiment caught Severus's attention. Lucius, looking older and more dignified than the last time Severus had seen him when he had graduated a few years back, tipped his head and gave Severus a look in such a way that signified something.

Severus knew what it meant, and made his trip to Gringotts quick. After, he stood in an inconspicuous corner just outside the building, waiting for Lucius to find him.

Just before Lucius had graduated Hogwarts, when Severus was just a 2nd year, he had informed Severus of a wizard who was powerful enough to give Severus any position in society he wanted. This wizard, Lucius said, recognized Severus's talents in Potions and saw his potential in the Dark Arts.

"I know you may not be ready now," Lucius had said, looking down his nose at the scrawny, greasy 2nd year, "but one day you will want the power The Dark Lord can offer you, and you are welcome to it, in exchange for your services."

Severus, being young at the time, had still been under the impression that everything he had been told about the Dark Arts was true (most of it was, mind you), and that he should associate with them in no way.

But, as time passed, he noticed the incompetence of others around him, the ignorance of Dumbledore, and he began to think about his future. By his fifth year, he had decided that his skills with potions would best be served towards Lord Voldemort, and he contacted Lucius.

And then, relatively gradually, he had fallen in love with Lily Evans. By the end of their time at Hogwarts together, he had begun to think desperately, _how can someone so _good_ exist with sanity?_ And he began to doubt his decision to join Lucius and The Dark Lord

Now, as he watched Lucius approach him outside Gringotts, the location of the next meeting on a piece of parchment clutched in the blond's hand, Severus was grateful for his decision. It would allow him to detach himself from Lily's life, and he could immerse himself entirely in servitude. Ignorance of her life with Potter would be bliss.

**A/N:** Hmm…Sevy's kind of becoming rather cynical and misanthropic, eh? Well, we'll see if that changes…hopefully things'll start moving along a little faster from now on. Thank you so much for reading, everyone!

Oh, and I'm aware that My Big Fat Greek Wedding didn't exist in 1978…but it was too good of an allusion to pass up, so…deal with it! :D

-A. Con


	5. Chapter 4

a n d t h e n t h e r e w e r e t h r e e

** a **n d ** t **h e n ** t **h e r e ** w **e r e ** t **h r e e 

**Author: **I am so, so sorry. There's nothing much else I can say…but I'm SO sorry. It's taken me FOREVER to get this out…I honestly don't have a very good excuse either…other than writer's block. I've made up for it, though, by writing this chappy. It may end up kinda short…but it's REALLY intense. I promise.

**TuRtLe88: **And your beta's computer friggin' SUCKS so you never know when you're going to have it fixed…

**Disclaimer:** If I owned

**Chapter Four**

**Telling**

Sirius walked out of the bathroom after taking a shower and changing for Lily and James' housewarming party, adjusting his tie. Remus, already dressed and ready to go, took over the job with the tie, aware that Sirius wasn't accustomed to Muggle raiment. Lily had requested it as a precaution in case a Muggle neighbor walked in, or if her father's Muggle clients decided to come. Once both men were suited up, they smiled at each other and apparated away.

--

Severus checked his suit in the mirror, sighed in acceptance that this was the best he could do with the materials presented to him. Why Lily wanted to live in a Muggle neighborhood with James was beyond him; she could have better protection elsewhere. But if she was happy… He double checked that all of his currently brewing potions were stable, and prepared to leave.

--

Lily laid the last dish out on the buffet table, brushed nothing off of her skirts, and called James in from his fascination with the TV. He finally agreed to go get changed, but only in return for Lily's promise of TiVo.

"Lily! Where the hell are my pants?"

"Wherever the hell you put them, James Potter! I'm not your bloody clothing nanny."

"Right. Because you don't deal with clothes." James winked at her, "Clothes are troublesome and only get in the way, right?" He kissed her, obviously digressing.

"James," Lily pulled away. "Please, go find your pants. We only have ten minutes." He pouted at her, kissed her again, and she shooed him off.

He pouted again, but obediently ran upstairs to find his pants.

--

Richard Peterson and his wife were first to arrive, and a few other neighbors followed shortly after. Arrivals came closer and closer together, until all attendees had come.

As James looked around the room, he noted duly that there were at least 3 Muggle couples in attendance. Apparently, Sirius had also noticed.

"Dude, mind if I spike the punch?" He walked over, wagging a bottle of tequila in James' face. James noted that only half of the bottle was still there.

"Not a bit."

"Really? Thanks!" He started to walk away.

"Unfortunately," James grabbed the collar of Sirius' shirt. "Lil' would mind. And if you piss her off, she won't want to sleep with me tonight."

"But…it's not like we can pull any other decent pranks! Half these whores are Muggles."

James smiled sympathetically. "Why don't you go find Remus? If it'll keep you out of trouble, you can borrow a room upstairs."

"Mate, Lily Evans has you _whipped_." Sirius shook his head in mock disgust and put the tequila bottle away as he walked off.

James watched him walk away, and chuckled to himself as he saw his friend reach for the tequila bottle as he approached the punch. Remus came to the rescue just by making his presence known to Sirius. "And _who_ were you saying is whipped, hypocrite?" James whispered to himself, smiling.

--

At the same moment, Tom Riddle, recently turned Lord Voldemort, began the last preparations before his first attack. He strode across the nondescript room, and plucked his wand from the top of the desk, admiring his own slender fingers as he did so.

He carefully, but forcefully, touched the wand tip to his left wrist, and muttered an incantation. _Soon I will be strong enough that spoken incantation will not be necessary._ The thought put a twisted grin on his face as he watched his skull and snake mark appear on his own arm.

Satisfied, he watched it disappear, and prepared for his soon-to-arrive guests.

--

Thus far the evening had been smooth and magic-less. Unfortunately, the too-good-to-be-real perfection just added to Lily's stress as she paced the room, holding conversations, and waiting for something to go wrong.

"Hi, Severus," She approached him as he was serving himself some punch. "How have you been?"

"Fine…good. I've been good. You?" He sniffed his punch, glared in Sirius' direction, and didn't take a sip. He planned to empty it into a sink or a plant later.

"Excellent…" she took the lull as an opportunity to serve herself some punch too. As she finished, she looked back up to continue the awkward conversation, only to see that Severus was gone.

She sighed, downed her cup of punch, and turned to the congregation of party-goers. Guiltily using a small amount of magic, she amplified her voice just enough to catch their attention.

"Thank you all so much for coming to this event," she said, after stepping up on a chair. She looked around at the various guests. Her parents, friends and new neighbors looked up at her politely, waiting for what she had to say.

Lily took a deep breath, swallowed, and started. "Most of you are very good friends, and have known James and I for a long time. As for the rest of you," she smiled warmly, as rehearsed, "I sincerely hope that we _will_ become good friends. James and I have also known each other for a long time," she looked at him, "and though some of those times may not have been…_pleasant_…we are very close to each other now. This leads me to my announcement. James an--"

"I'm sorry Lil'," James appeared by her side. "But before you get to _that_, there's something _I_ wanted to say." To James it was not the _strangers_ looking on who made him nervous, but his good friends. Remus' approving and waiting gaze, Sirius' wary look, and Severus' cold, hard, threatening stare all seemed to convey the same message. "Get on with it." And thus, he did. Stepping up on Lily's chair, he began.

Or tried to. Even from his position on the chair, he couldn't quite tell what had interrupted him. There was a commotion near the back. He stood on his tip-toes to see, and when he realized what was happening, he quietly whispered, "shite," to himself.

--

When The Dark Lord called his servants, the burning was sudden. Out of nowhere. There was no way to prepare yourself because you couldn't feel it approaching.

Severus had kept perfect eye-contact with Lily throughout her speech, and had not broken it as James had interrupted to begin his own address. He could feel his temper rising, and, worried that whatever they might say would set him off, tried to forewarn himself with his legilimency, but to no benefit. He was almost glad that he wasn't able to; this meant that Lily and James were in the habit of occlumenting while under stress. And, though their safety was not an issue _de dato_, it added assurance nonetheless.

Perhaps it was because Severus was so concentrated on opening his senses for legilimency that he was able to feel that the call was coming, but, unfortunately, the warning did him no good. He had no way of recognizing the tingling and warmth in his arm as the precursor of the searing pain that would come with the Dark Lord's summons.

The tingling and warmth intensified to the familiar sharp pains and burning, and Severus doubled over in pain. Wizards and witches standing near him turned to look, and one leaned down to check on him. He waved the man off and turned, walking out the front door.

--

Richard Peterson was appalled at the man's rudeness, even through his gnawing concern.

"What happened, honey?" his wife asked, rushing to his side.

"I'm not sure, Cathy. That guy did something to his arm, but I didn't see what. He ran off rather quickly."

"Oh shite." Richard turned to see a group of three young men standing together, looking at Richard in horror. "Shite, we have to tell Lily" The tall one with light brown hair spoke.

"Um, which news do we give her first, Pads? The one about Sev …you know…" the dark-haired man gestured to his own left arm, "Or the one about her dad's buddies knowing?"

"I'll…let you guys get right on that." The short, stouter brunette turned and left rather hurriedly. Richard Peterson could've sworn he saw the man getting shorter and more hunched as he ran—no, _scurried_—away.

Richard Peterson was not a man who was comfortable with feeling out of the loop. He promptly looked around for the Mr. Evans, and, once he was spotted, Richard made a beeline to the man.

"Mark, I don't know what's going on here, but I don't particularly like it. Cathy and I are leaving," Richard sighed exhaustedly. "When you have things under control, Mark, we'll talk about the property again."

With that, Richard collected his coat and his wife, and, along with quite a few other neighbors, left.

--

**A/N: **Gah! It's so short! And I'm not particularly proud of it…but there's not a lot else I can do. Sorry guys. Keep bugging me about updating! It might not happen for a while though…I'm going to have finals coming up here in the next couple weeks. After that though, it's summer break! And I'll be free to stay up late writing for my beloved readers. (That's you!)

**Anaguma Conscience**


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